Notre Dame's Biedscheid has 'clear' conscience after fight

March 08, 2013|By Brian Hamilton | Tribune reporter

It wasn't until hours after the impromptu bare-knuckle boxing match broke out that Cam Biedscheid fielded a call from his coach with the news: The Notre Dame freshman would serve an automatic one-game suspension due to an ejection for fighting.

It was two days later that Biedscheid continued to act in self-defense.

"My conscience is pretty clear on the way I handled it," Biedscheid said before practice Thursday. "I feel like I handled it the right way."

After St. John's swingman Sir'Dominic Pointer came at Biedscheid swinging late in a 66-40 Irish win on Tuesday, and after Biedscheid threw punches in retaliation, the result was a one-game ban for the regular-season finale at Louisville on Saturday.

A call from Irish coach Mike Brey to the Big East office didn't change anything, even as Brey insisted his player was acting in self-defense; no one can "un-ring that bell," Brey said, once the ejection for fighting occurs.

Biedscheid, usually the first man off the bench for Notre Dame and averaging 6.8 points per game in his first season, regrets only that he won't be able to contribute in the next installment of a heated series on Saturday. Asked what precipitated the tussle, he demurred, saying only: "I'd rather just leave that alone."

"I really haven't been thinking about (the fight) at all," Biedscheid said. "I've just been really thinking about the fact that I won't be able to play in the Louisville game and that's a game that really means a lot to me and my teammates, and we really want to go out and win that game. I feel like in a way I'm letting them down by not being able to be there for them, but I'm just trying to focus on being there to support them and going to the Big East tournament."